On my own in the city

For the first time in many weeks I won't be partaking in my Friday afternoon city run. My son and junior emerging runner has joined me in my office for the day and my trusty running partner, Adventure Girl, is preparing for her three week orientation at Yale that starts on Sunday. I'm going to miss our runs and there's much to be said for running with others in terms of performance and distraction from the effort. I've read some recent articles that support the idea that running with groups helps improve pace. Although the bulk of my running is solo I have run enough with others to know that I generally do better with another person helping to set the pace. It takes commitment to run during the workday because we don't have shower facilities and few people are willing to go at lunch and come back to the office soaking with sweat. I had hoped that our division Fun Run would surface some running partners but no one has taken the bait yet.

Tomorrow I'll be running in Belmont Lake State Park as training for the Babylon Dirty Sock 10K that will be help there later in the month. I'll be joined by someone who trains there regularly and knows the course. I'm slightly concerned about the length of the 6.2 mile run because I have averaged closer to 4.5 miles per weekend run over the last few months. According to what I have read, these trails are moderately flat and that, combined with the shade from the trees should help me deal with the effort. I'm looking forward to being back on the trails again. As for city running, even as AG leaves for New Haven I plan to do a run at least once a week. I hope to find someone to join me on the lower loop in Central Park or down the West Side bike trails every once in a while. Adventure Girl will be back for a couple of days every week starting in September and we'll run if she can squeeze it in. It's been a great summer for running and there are still some weeks to go!